The impact of the continuing coronavirus pandemic is starting to show its true colors with an almost 13% market share drop for Apple’s Mac computer line in the first quarter compared to a year ago.
Market intelligence firm IDC reported Monday that Mac shipments dropped 3.1 million in Q1 from 3.9 million in the same period of 2019, a 21% fall. According to IDC, this was one of the “largest drops in recent history” for the company. Mac production was “one of the hardest hit by the shutdown of factories,” primarily in China.
As a result of disappointing shipment numbers, Apple also saw its market share decline in the period from 6.6% for Q1 2019 to 5.8% in Q1 2020.
PC-makers hit hard by COVID-19, too
The report indicates the global PC market declined 9.8% year over year in the first quarter, with a total of 53.2 million shipments. IDC said the decline after a year of growth was due to the extended factory shutdowns in February because of the coronavirus, and a slow resumption of manufacturing that began near the end of March.
IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani said that while things are returning to normal in China in terms of component making and product manufacturing, demand for products could be “short-lived.”
“As many fear the worst is yet to come and this could lead to both consumers and businesses tightening spending in the coming months,” she wrote.
The period was not good for the rest of computer vendors either. HP’s shipments declined 13.8%, followed by Acer with 9.9% and Lenovo at 4.3%. Dell shipments rose marginally by 1.1%. The IDC predictions are based on data from various sources. Apple no longer reports individual breakdowns by product or group.
Apple will reveal overall financial results for the quarter on April 30. In February, Apple warned it would miss its first-quarter revenue target due to the coronavirus outbreak in China. The pandemic constrained Cupertino’s manufacturing, supply chains and retail operations worldwide.
